Jewish medical ethics is a modern scholarly and clinical approach to

medical ethics Medical ethics is an applied branch of ethics which analyzes the practice of clinical medicine and related scientific research. Medical ethics is based on a set of values that professionals can refer to in the case of any confusion or conflict. T ...

that draws upon Jewish thought and teachings. Pioneered by Rabbi

Immanuel Jakobovits Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits (8 February 192131 October 1999) was the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. Prior to this, he had served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and as rabbi of the Fi ...

in the 1950s, Jewish medical ethics centers mainly around an

applied ethics Applied ethics refers to the practical aspect of moral considerations. It is ethics with respect to real-world actions and their moral considerations in the areas of private and public life, the professions, health, technology, law, and leadersh ...

drawing upon traditional rabbinic law (halakhah). In addition, scholars have begun examining theoretical and methodological questions, while the field itself has been broadened to encompass

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

and non-halakhic approaches.

Key issues

In its early years, Jewish medical ethics addressed a range of ethical dilemmas, as well as general questions about the

professional ethics Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals. The word professionalism originally applied to vows of a religious order. By no later than the year 1675, the term had seen secular applic ...

for doctors. Major issues have included

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

artificial insemination Artificial insemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into a female's cervix or uterine cavity for the purpose of achieving a pregnancy through in vivo fertilization by means other than sexual intercourse. It is a fertility treatment ...

brain death Brain death is the permanent, irreversible, and complete loss of brain function which may include cessation of involuntary activity necessary to sustain life. It differs from persistent vegetative state, in which the person is alive and some aut ...

cosmetic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes cranio ...

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

, genetic screening, hazardous medical operations,

circumcision Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Top ...

, oral suction in circumcision ( metzitzah b'peh),

organ donation Organ donation is the process when a person allows an organ of their own to be removed and transplanted to another person, legally, either by consent while the donor is alive or dead with the assent of the next of kin. Donation may be for re ...

, psychiatric care, and smoking cigarettes. In recent years, Jewish bioethics has examined questions of medical technology, the allocation of medical resources, and the philosophy of

Jewish ethics Jewish ethics is the ethics of the Jewish religion or the Jewish people. A type of normative ethics, Jewish ethics may involve issues in Jewish law as well as non-legal issues, and may involve the convergence of Judaism and the Western philosop ...

History

In 19th century ''

Wissenschaft des Judentums "''Wissenschaft des Judentums''" (Literally in German the expression means "Science of Judaism"; more recently in the US it started to be rendered as "Jewish Studies" or "Judaic Studies," a wide academic field of inquiry in American Universities) ...

'', scholars like Julius Preuss studied Talmudic approaches to medicine. Rabbi

was a prominent figure in 20th century Jewish

and a pioneer in religious

. His specialty was the interaction between

and ''

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

''. Thanks to his academic training in Ireland, Rabbi Jakobovits approached his comprehensive volume, ''Jewish Medical Ethics'', in light of Catholic medical ethics, with which he often compares Jewish ethics. Whether developing or disputing his analysis, subsequent Jewish

bioethicists Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, med ...

have utilized his work on

, the history of Jewish medical ethics,

palliative care Palliative care (derived from the Latin root , or 'to cloak') is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimizing quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with serious, complex, and often terminal illnesses. Wit ...

, treatment of the sick, and professional duties. Likewise, he is credited with popularizing the claim that Judaism supports the nearly absolute

sanctity of life In religion and ethics, the inviolability of life, or sanctity of life, is a principle of implied protection regarding aspects of sentient life that are said to be holy, sacred, or otherwise of such value that they are not to be violated. This c ...

. In its early years, Jewish medical ethics was predominantly an

. Orthodox pioneers included rabbis and scholars

J. David Bleich Judah David Bleich (born August 24, 1936 in Tarrytown, New York) is an authority on Jewish law and ethics, including Jewish medical ethics. He is a professor of Talmud (rosh yeshiva) at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of ...

, Fred Rosner, Avraham Steinberg, Saul J. Berman, Moshe David Tendler, as well as major rabbinic authorities, such as

Shlomo Zalman Auerbach Shlomo Zalman Auerbach ( he, שלמה זלמן אויערבאך; July 20, 1910 – February 20, 1995) was a renowned Orthodox Jewish rabbi, posek, and rosh yeshiva of the Kol Torah yeshiva in Jerusalem. The Jerusalem neighborhood Ramat Shlomo ...

, Moshe Feinstein and Eliezer Waldenberg. The reform movement's pioneers included Solomon Freehof, and later involvement by Walter Jacob and

Moshe Zemer Moshe Zemer (born Melvin Ray Zager, January 1, 1932-November 3, 2011) was a Reform Rabbi in Israel between 1963-2011. He was the co-founder of Jewish Reform institutions in Israel and served in key positions in them, including as chair of MARAM (Th ...

. Pioneering medical ethicists in the Conservative movement included rabbis

Elliot Dorff Elliot N. Dorff (born 24 June 1943) is an American Conservative rabbi. He is a Visiting Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law and Distinguished Professor of Jewish theology at the American Jewish University (formerly the University of Judaism) in ...

, David Feldman, Aaron Mackler,

Joel Roth Joel Roth is a prominent American rabbi in the Rabbinical Assembly, which is the rabbinical body of Conservative Judaism. He is a former member and chair of the assembly's ''Committee on Jewish Law and Standards'' (CJLS) which deals with questio ...

, and

Avram Reisner Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the ...

, while more recent figures have included Leonard Sharzer. Among those oriented to bioethics, leading thinkers include

Daniel Sinclair Daniel Sinclair"Daniel Sinclair"
profile at Noam Zohar. Dr. Mark J. Poznansky, a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

, has been a leading voice on issues of human and animal experimentation. Organizationally, Jewish medical ethics and bioethics has grown, especially in the United States and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Journals dedicated to medical ethics include the "Assia" Journal of Jewish Ethics and Halacha. Avraham Steinberg's 7-volume ''Encyclopedia Hilchatit Refuit'' in Hebrew has been translated into English by Professor Fred Rosner as the ''Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics''. In Israel, where there are several educational institutes dedicated to Jewish Medical Ethics, many hospitals work closely with Jewish clinical ethicists. Jewish medical ethics and bioethics has been the topic of numerous scholarly conferences, educational workshops, and lectureships, including the "International Conference on Jewish Medical Ethics." Organizations such as the Dr. Falk

Schlesinger Institute The Schlesinger Institute for Medical-Halachic Research was founded in Israel in 1966 under the auspices of Shaare Zedek Medical Center. It is named after the hospital's second director-general. The institute is dedicated to the halachic (Jewish ...

for Medico-Halakhic Research at the

Shaare Zedek Medical Center The Shaare Zedek Medical Center ( he, מרכז רפואי שערי צדק, ''Merkaz Refu'i Sha'arei Tzedek'') (lit. "Gates of Justice") is a large teaching hospital in Jerusalem established in 1902, It affiliated with Hebrew University of Jerusal ...

in Jerusalem, and the

Rohr Jewish Learning Institute The Rohr Jewish Learning Institute (JLI) is a division of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of the Chabad-Lubavitch Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. It offers adult Jewish courses on Jewish history, law, ethics, philosophy and rabbi ...

teach classes on Jewish Medical Ethics to professionals and students.

References

Bibliography

* Avraham, A.S. ''Lev Avraham: Hilchot Refuah le-Kholeh v'le-meshamesh'', Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers, 1976 * _________. ''Nishmat Avraham, Hilchot Cholim, Rofim ve-Refuah'' Jerusalem: Schlesinger Institute, 1983–2000. ''Note: This is a codificatory publication on halakhah pertaining to medical ethics.'' * Bleich, J. David. 1981. ''Judaism and Healing''. New York: Ktav. *

Aron Brand Aron Brand-Auraban (21 February 1910 – 22 April 1977) was an Israeli pediatric cardiologist. He served as chairman of the Israel Medical Association in Jerusalem, and founded the Jerusalem Academy of Medicine. Biography Aron Brand grew up in Ko ...

. "Medical oaths and preventative medicine," ''Koroth,'' 7, no. 3–4, December 1976 * ''Conservative Judaism''. 2002. Vol. 54(3). Contains a set of six articles on bioethics. *

. 1998. ''Matters of Life and Death: A Jewish Approach to Modern Medical Ethics''. Philadelphia:

Jewish Publication Society The Jewish Publication Society (JPS), originally known as the Jewish Publication Society of America, is the oldest nonprofit, nondenominational publisher of Jewish works in English. Founded in Philadelphia in 1888, by reform Rabbi Joseph Krausko ...

. * Eisenberg, Daniel.
Various articles
* David Feldman. 1974. ''Marital Relations, Birth Control, and Abortion in Jewish Law''. New York:

Schocken Books Schocken Books is a book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House that specializes in Jewish literary works. Originally established in 1931 by Salman Schocken as Schocken Verlag in Berlin, the company later moved to Palestine and then the Uni ...

. * Freedman, B. 1999. ''Duty and Healing: Foundations of a Jewish Bioethic''. New York: Routledge. * Guggenheim, R., Leupin, L., Nordmann Y. and Patcas, R. (ed.) 2010. ''The Value of Human Life - Contemporary Perspectives in Jewish Medical Ethics'', Feldheim Publishers. * Halperin, Mordechai. "Milestones in Jewish Medical Ethics Medical-Halachic Literature in Israel, 1948-1998
online version
* Jakobovits, Immanuel. 1959. ''Jewish Medical Ethics''. New York: Bloch Publishing. * Katznelson, Y. ''Ha-Talmud ve-Hokhmat ha-Refu’a''. Berlin: Haim Press, 1928 * Mackler, Aaron L., ed. 2000. ''Life & Death Responsibilities in Jewish Biomedical Ethics''. JTS. * Maibaum, M. 1986. "A 'progressive' Jewish medical ethics: notes for an agenda." ''Journal of Reform Judaism'' 33(3): 27–33. * Perlman, Moshe. ''Midrash ha-Refu’a'', Tel Aviv: Dvir 1926-34 * Preuss, Julius. ''Biblisch-Talmudische Medizin'' * Rosner, Fred. 1986. ''Modern Medicine and Jewish Ethics''. New York: Yeshiva University Press. *

Byron Sherwin Rabbi Byron Lee Sherwin (February 18, 1946 – May 22, 2015) was a Jewish scholar and author with expertise in theology, inter-religious dialogue, mysticism and Jewish ethics. Background and career A rabbi in the Conservative Judaism movement, he ...

. 2004. ''Golems among us: How a Jewish legend can help us navigate the biotech century'' * Sinclair, Daniel. 1989. ''Tradition and the biological revolution: The application of Jewish law to the treatment of the critically ill'' * _________. ''Jewish biomedical law.'' Oxford * Zohar, Noam J. 1997. ''Alternatives in Jewish Bioethics''. Albany: State University of New York Press. * Zoloth Laurie. 1999. ''Health care and the ethics of encounter: A Jewish discussion of social justice.'' Univ. of North Carolina Press. *
Assia
', Hebrew journal on Jewish medical ethics
English selections are available.
*
Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics
' by Avraham Steinberg.

External links

* Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists
Medical halakhah information
* Dr. Falk Schlesinger Institute for Jewish Medical Ethics & Halacha Research,

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

br>website
and
bibliography of responsa and journal articles

Nishmat's Women's Online Information Center
primarily on family purity practices *

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City."About YU
on the Yeshiva Universi ...

'
YU Student Medical Ethics Society
*
International Conference on Jewish medical Ethics
25–28 May 2017 in Stein am Rhein, Switzerland, on Reproductive Medicine in the Light of Jewish Medical Ethics, including topics such as Assisted Reproduction Techniques, Pre-Implantal Diagnosis and Fertility Preservation. *
South Florida Center for Jewish Ethics
*
Online Course (Hebrew) in Jewish Medical Ethics
*
The New England Institute of Jewish Studies, Medical Ethics SeminarsBioethics program
at the

American Jewish University American Jewish University (AJU), formerly the separate institutions University of Judaism and Brandeis-Bardin Institute, is a Jewish institution in Los Angeles, California. Its largest component is its Whizin Center for Continuing Education in ...

, Los Angeles, California
Jewish Bioethics
from Jerusalem's Darche Noam Educational Institute
Bioethics for clinicians: Jewish bioethics
– Canadian Medical Association Journal article {{Medical ethics Jewish law Judaism and science

Key issues

History

See also

References

Bibliography

External links